Walking Dead
by costoflove
Summary: Bella and Charlie are in hiding and Jasper is on the run. Maria will do anything to get him back. With the Swans being hunted and Maria closing in will they all survive to get their happy endings? A/U and very OOC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey! *Waves enthusiastically* I'm really excited that you were drawn to my fic and were also brave enough to venture in and take a read. I had originally posted this a month or so ago as "Won't Back Down" my pen name at the time was Caramel Brown. I took the story down after I re-read it and realized how much I needed a beta! I apologize to anyone who read the unbeta'd version. This one is better, I promise, so please give me another chance!

I have to warn you, though. This is story is pretty angsty but full of romance and growth in its three main characters. Its an AU story where the southern wars never really ended but were just put on pause by the Volturi laying the hammer down, Jasper never crossed paths with Alice, and Bella never met Edward. The Cullen family does come into play somewhere down the line, though; so don't worry about missing them too much.

Also, thanks to my awesome beta's Bitch Goddess and Rebekah! They did an awesome job of helping me iron out the beginning of this story :)

I guess the only thing left I'd like to say is that I love feedback. I love it because it's incredibly important to my writing and helps me improve how I tell a story. One thing I'd really appreciate is if you guys would let me know how you feel about long chapters. I like them but I'm not terribly opposed to breaking up an 8 or more page chapter up into two separate parts. Let me know! :) Anyway, happy reading!

* * *

"You'll never be able to hide from me."

Jasper Whitlock acknowledged the voice on the wind and growled in response. He wasn't quite sure when it had caught up with him in the harsh African desert, but it set his nerves on edge. He'd been so busy, blowing through it for hours, enjoying his invincibility against Mother Nature herself. In his stationary state, he was forced to listen. Jasper was sure wherever his sire was, she was amused by his anger, and after all, she was right. He couldn't hide from her, but he could run. He could keep her so engrossed in her hunt for him that her stronghold would weaken. What was left of her army had such an insatiable blood lust that it couldn't be left alone without destruction following.

He screamed into the night, effectively drowning out the whisper but feeling no better than he did before. Waves of lust, rage, and possession steamrolled his bitterness. She wanted him back, but not before reminding him to whom he belonged— before marking him so obviously that he could never forget. She wanted to crush him and own him all at once. He guessed that was the closest to love she could get.

She didn't understand what love was; he knew that now more than at any other point in their lives together, love was such a foreign concept to her that she had to make sense of it by turning it into a dark and ugly thing that consumed her. To his own detriment, Jasper didn't know love either.

From what he could recall of his human life, he loved the people that breathed life into him, but that was different. It was like a dull pull of respect more than anything else. Being with Maria was like being hit by a freight train every second of every day; the force of her will bearing down on him and the ecstasy of knowing she preferred him above all others were the main sensations he contended with. Night often bled into day and day into night; he had no concept of time or space with her, and he existed to serve her every will. It had all been so clear, until recently.

"Wherever you go…" she whispered into the wind as the sand kicked up by the storm attacked his skin. He had to give it to her when it came to theatrics…"I'll find you."

Jasper closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. Confusion filled him, anger threatened his progress, but fear drove him forward. He pushed away from the ground and flew over the storm, his body slicing through it like a finely sharpened blade, and touched ground miles away. He started to run again, ignoring the rising sun. He was fast enough that humans wouldn't see him there.

Maria was the one who had to worry about being caught. One more transgression, and she wouldn't be forgiven. The Volturi rarely gave second chances, but when they did, it was a gift not to be taken lightly. One slip up and you were gone, just like that. He didn't intend to be anywhere near her when it happened. He didn't want to be associated.

"You feel that, Maria?" he shouted, and pushed her destructive feelings back at her. "I'll feel nothing when they rip you apart!"

Nothing.

Jasper's head cleared, his body moved at an increased speed. He felt lighter than before and even bounded freely across the enormous mound of sand that blocked his way. He had no idea where he was going. He couldn't hear Maria's voice anymore. He couldn't hear her light footfalls in the wind and she was growing ever fainter in his mind.

One thought consumed him and left only one conclusion; that he was too late.

For what, he didn't know, but that single string extending across his mind made him want to go faster, stretch his abilities further. He couldn't stop and wouldn't until he found out what he was searching for—even if it meant barreling through the desert like a derailed freight train, unchecked and uncompromising.

* * *

"Bella, you get back here!"

Charlie's voice filtered through the house, more of a broken noise than the loud bellow it should have been. The cracked tone made Bella stop in her tracks on the stairs leading to their basement. She intended to shut herself in until her anger, and Charlie's mysterious disappointment, subsided. _Charlie and his high expectations and even higher amount of fear. _She had wanted to scream earlier. She had screamed—right in his face—and regretted the words that had come out almost instantaneously. They'd been going at it for days and would go at it again the next time she had a function to attend.

This time, it was a recital at the local theater in St. Petersburg. She'd been taking classes since she was eleven and had stumbled upon an advanced group of ballerinas finishing a break outside the theater on her walk home from school. Curious, she watched them file back inside and take the stage. From the moment she'd seen them flit gracefully across the stage, Bella was hooked.

On any normal day she was clumsy at best, clumsy and destructive at worst. The idea that she could be as fluid in her movements as any one of the beautiful women was intriguing. Since it was on the way, and Charlie could monitor her closely, she was allowed to excel; and excel she did. So much so that she was allowed early acceptance into more advanced classes and participation in more difficult ballets.

Charlie noticed and became more cautious. As she advanced, he started to talk about her spending more time at home, and not because he missed her. He never used that excuse. It was always about her safety. The roads, the hallways, the brief moments she stood in front of the school before he picked her up, were all moments of extreme danger. Charlie would get into rants and mutter that anyone could get her.

He liked the word "get".

Words like stab, cut, and hit were all deplorable and never employed in her case of vulnerability. Someone would get her, as he would say, and there was never anything else. These were some of the things she'd begun to notice early in her teens. She went to school, then home, and repeated it the next day. She never went out to buy clothes or to meet friends.

Eventually, she stopped trying to talk to people. Her eyes would sweep downcast when speaking to people out of necessity—always to send the message that the conversation should end as soon as possible. It worked for the most part, and soon no one spoke to her. She might as well have been invisible. That suited Charlie just fine. No one should notice her, or him for that matter. She didn't know why. That day, she'd asked.

Bella walked back into the short hallway where Charlie still stood, eyes red from stress, tears, and exhaustion. He didn't sleep much—and sometimes she'd catch him sitting up late at night on the porch. This time, she knew it wasn't the sleeplessness that made him look so tired. It was her.

"Bella, why can't you just do as I ask?" Charlie thumbed his eyes, wiping away the dampness, which was new because he never cried in front of her—if he even cried at all. That was terrible. She knew it and hated it. She hated him and hated herself for doing so.

"Why can't you tell me why I can't be normal? Why we can't talk about mom?"

"Because," Charlie started, his voice rising in timbre," she's…I…"

"What happened to Mom?" Bella asked.

"Dead, Bella, she's dead." Charlie's stony tone hit her hard. It wasn't that she had never considered the idea of her mother actually being six feet under. She thought about it all the time, as she did with all of the other possibilities. However, standing in the hallway, hearing Charlie spit out the truth so coldly, a sob erupted from her throat at the confirmation of her deepest and darkest fears.

"Charlie," Bella murmured, taking a step toward him. For the first time in her life, Charlie backed away from her. He was coming apart, this she was more than capable of seeing with her own eyes, but it seemed his pain ran deeper, broke him more completely. Bella swallowed thickly, regret and sorrow reverberating in her head.

"She died because I couldn't keep her safe. I wasn't good enough, I wasn't fast enough, I couldn't think ahead of them or her, for that matter. She died because of me, Bella. I might as well have killed her with my own two hands."

He stepped back and then swayed, hitting the wall beside him crumpling toward the hardwood floor. His knees hit with a hard thud, and the rest of him followed, legs apart and arms limp by his sides. Even Charlie's shoulders seemed lifeless and heavy. Bella rushed to him, her sneakers squeaking loudly against the polished wood. She sank down beside him and pulled her knees to her chest.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Bella's voice was small. Charlie nodded slowly, his eyes still trained on the wall across from them. His hands balled into fists and his jaw was taut; she watched his eyes narrow then blank, in the wake of some memory Bella would never hear about. She reached out and placed her hand over one of his fists.

"I won't ask again," Bella whispered, then repeated louder. She leaned her head on Charlie's shoulder inhaling and exhaling slowly. Her nerves smoothed and they stayed sitting like that for several moments that seemed to drag on into hours. The house darkened before Charlie spoke again.

"You should get ready for the recital, Bella," he said. "I'll get the car."

Bella's breath hitched and excitement bubbled inside her. "Are you sure, Dad?"

Charlie nodded slowly. "I want you to have one more night."

"And then?" Bella asked.

"And then, Bella, you're going to learn the truth."

* * *

Freesia, sweet and faint—Jasper was close. Setting foot on Russian soil, that was the first thing Jasper noticed, the faint smell that clouded every other aspect of the forest surrounding him. He could have picked up anything, the trees, the grass, and the smell of blood pumping through the veins of every animal within a ten-mile radius. Freesia it was.

He closed his eyes and felt for the direction. The scent overloaded his gift and propelled him through the trees until there were none. Thankfully, it was night when he arrived in the glittering city. It had been so long since he'd taken note of his location that he was a bit taken aback by the realization that he was in St. Petersburg.

Standing amongst the old, historical buildings, he began to wonder, for what, exactly, was he searching. He walked down the old cobblestone street, kicking the broken pieces of stone whenever he found them. Judging from the icy breeze, he'd say that winter had just arrived. Surprisingly, there wasn't a snowstorm, yet.

Jasper hadn't seen snow in a while, decades to be precise, and the prospect of seeing the first flakes drift from the sky excited him. He sniffed the chilly, clean air and sighed. His muscles relaxed slowly with each breath he took. He didn't need the air pumping through his lungs to survive, but somehow in that moment, he felt as if it were necessary.

He concentrated on the direction in which the wind blew, the voices of the humans a mile or so away, laughing drunkenly, and he tried to catch a stronger scent. The stronger the aroma, the closer he was. He caught something similar from a passing car, so thick it filled his nostrils and mouth. He perked, nearly to the point of chasing after it, but the artificial aftertaste quelled the quick rise.

The group of people he'd sensed earlier approached, causing Jasper to shrink back into the shadows. He hadn't had human blood in months and had paused only out of the necessity of not leaving a trail for Maria to find. Even though he didn't sense her, he'd been running nearly non-stop since Africa, stopping only once in Germany to hunt a nearby pack of elk. He supposed he'd been successfully weaned off human blood, though that wasn't his intent. The bloodlust that had been so strong before was now eclipsed by this path he was set on following.

The group passed him by, not once looking in his direction. He didn't smell them, nor did he listen for the sweet sound of their beating hearts, his only focus was that he stayed hidden. That was a change. A year ago, he wouldn't have cared.

He stepped into the harsh yellow glow of the street lamp and surveyed his surroundings. It must have been late. Jasper turned and caught what he was looking for—the real thing, only stronger than before, and accompanied by two beating hearts, one male and one female. His muscles itched to run again as the winds picked up.

Though the low temperature didn't affect him, he looked down at his current state. The trousers he'd last worn in Texas were shredded to bits around his thighs, and whatever shirt he'd put on no longer existed. Only his hard, granite skin showed, boasting the war scars and bites. To any passing vampire, he probably looked intimidating. To a human, he couldn't imagine what he appeared as.

He followed the scent, once again after a moving car; heading toward what appeared to be a community theater. Once they stopped, the smell surrounded him, pulling him toward the vehicle. He fought against the impulse, shrinking back again into a nearby alley.

The cloying fingertips of lust crept up on him. His eyes searched out what no human could see from the street— a couple down the alley, pressed against the wall, lips tripping over each other in furtive kisses. Focusing on them, he intensified their lust, moving things along so fast that neither of them noticed his approach. They undressed noisily, and Jasper pushed the lust farther, until they were naked and groping each other.

Scooping up the discarded garments, he moved away from them, hastily distinguishing the man's clothing and changing into them. The wool trousers and dress shirt were a bit large on him, but they'd do.

Jasper looked back at them, his body fraught with a need he hadn't filled since Texas—Maria grinding against him, clawing his back, tightening around him. He shuddered uselessly, disgusted with himself. He worried his lower lip and pushed his emotions outwards, clearing his mind of anything but the two beating hearts he hadn't lost track of since they'd entered the building. Behind him, the couple snarled at each other, shouting and cursing loudly.

Better them than him.

He moved inside the building, following the trail the two beating hearts left, until they separated and one didn't smell as good. He veered off, slipping into the backstage area, encountering nearly fifty ballerinas, in and out of costume, flitting about. The freesia led him further back, past stagehands and into a little hallway he supposed connected to the dressing rooms.

The hallway contained one other person. If Jasper's heart still worked, it would have beat faster. Ahead of him, a girl, no older than seventeen, dropped a small bag, and then let out a string of unladylike curses. She stooped to pick up the bag, pushing her long chestnut hair behind her thin shoulders. Her face flamed red as she stood, awkwardly regaining the composure of herself and her things. She looked right at him, smiled widely, and then disappeared into the room beside her. Jasper stepped forward, then back. The hesitation was foreign to him.

Hesitation in the life he'd led since becoming a vampire meant death. He'd had to be sure every second of everyday, that his choices were correct, that his confidence wasn't misplaced.

There in that hallway, hoping that this strange but beautiful, girl would come back, just so he could see her brilliant smile, he'd never felt more insecure. He wanted to move, his muscles demanded it, his body ached to be closer, and his mind started to run rampant with unchecked lust and need. He took a deep, unnecessary breath, and her scent filled him, stoking the ignited flame within.

He thought of holding her and kissing her lips, her neck…oh God, her neck. He snapped to attention, nearly flying backwards into the wall behind him. His body rebelled against his mind, blood lust threatening to take over. Moving without thinking, he shot toward the door, his hand closing around the knob and crushing the metal into his palm.

Screams took the edge off, allowing him to register that something wasn't right. Anger crowed out the heady feelings. His head emptied to all of the possibilities surrounding him. Someone was hurting her. If Jasper got inside, he'd kill whoever was with her, and once that was over, he didn't know what he'd do. There were footsteps rapidly approaching, but were still too far away. He couldn't trust that they'd get to her in time, and he couldn't trust that he wouldn't stop killing the moment he got into the room.

She screamed again, her voice taking on a pleading tone, drawing a low growl from him. Each time he heard her voice, strained and full of fear, he felt as if his chest would explode.

He couldn't risk even the slightest prospect of her death. It was as if his entire existence depended on her breathing. Jasper surrendered to the rolling boil of his rage. The door caved beneath the impact of his fists, coming off the hinges and looking mangled in his wake.

Stepping over the threshold, he spotted the hulking mass of a man, holding the terrified girl against the wall. She struggled against him, kicking and scratching to no avail. The man, twice Jasper's size, dug his fingers into her neck, pinning her to the hard surface.

Jasper growled at him, and the man turned. His face contorted into an expression of human arrogance. He released the girl, saying something in Russian that Jasper didn't understand. The girl hit the floor with a sickening snap and an agonized gasp of pain. Jasper reacted; he couldn't stop himself, even if he had wanted to.

His body moved instinctively, grasping the man by the throat when he came close enough, and hurling him across the room. The heavy body dented the wall with its force. That is what Jasper would reduce him to, a heavy, lifeless body. He closed in on him, dissecting him with his eyes before deciding to start by ripping his arm clean out of its socket.

The girl screamed behind him, just as Jasper's icy hand enclosed around the man's fat wrist.

"Don't!" she shouted. "Don't kill him!"

Jasper looked to her and saw her shrink even further inside of herself than he thought possible. It shocked him clear out of his blackened fury. She took a deep, shuddering breath and backed away from the man.

"Thank you," she intoned hoarsely. The sound was nearly enough to send him into hysterics again. The man had hurt her. He deserved to die for even having the thought cross his mind. It was right there that he decided that no one would hurt her again, not as long as he walked this earth.

"I just can't deal with any more death today," she said with a sad smile.

Jasper nodded. "Can I help you up?"

She smiled weakly. "My ankle hurts."

"I'll go slowly," Jasper said. His arms encircled her waist, and he took care to raise her from the floor without jostling her injury. Once they were up, he carefully placed his other arm beneath her knees, suspending her completely from the ground. She shivered as he held her, and he expected her to pull away, but she only nestled closer.

"Bella!" A man's voice down the hall broke their easy silence. Was that her name? He hadn't even thought to ask. He rolled it around in his thoughts and came to the conclusion that it was the perfect name for her.

Jasper stepped over the threshold again, only to be swarmed by police and security guards. He tensed, and the girl in his arms must have noticed. She barked at them in Russian, shaking her head toward the shattered door. Jasper looked at her surprised at the force in her voice.

The police flooded the room behind them, only one remaining in the hall rushing toward them. Jasper growled at him, stopping him short on his path.

"What are you doing with my daughter?" he spoke through his teeth. Jasper lowered his guard.

"Dad, it's okay. He saved me."

Her father's eyes filled with gratitude, but Jasper felt the fear coursing through his veins, like that of a hunted animal. Then, the guilt came, hitting Jasper so hard he might have fallen over. The man opened his mouth, and then closed it again; confusion, anger, remorse, and shame filled him all at once.

Just then, the EMT team barreled down the hall with their gurney. Small hands tightened around him.

"Don't leave me," she said, and Jasper told her he had no intention of it. Placing her on the gurney, away from his protection, tore at his soul. He didn't know why this human girl meant so much to him all of a sudden. Her father went with her, and as they disappeared down the hall, Jasper wondered if he could go back on his promise.

This would only end badly. It was mere fact. The longer he stayed with her, the more likely she'd end up dead by his hand.

Jasper's feet moved, he meant for them to go backwards, and away from the ambulance and from her. They had different plans, however, and carried him down the hall at an inhuman speed. Jasper's mind struggled to keep up with his body's instinctual tendencies. He growled when no such luck fell upon him and gave up control, unable to impede his own body from making a mistake he'd surely regret.

How did you guys like it? Oh, please, please, please let me know!

* * *

I'm leaving Maria's ability a secret for now, sorry! You're totally willing to guess but if you think you know you're probably only a third of the way correct. I've always thought that it was ridiculous for her to not have a power. More to come soon!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you so much for the warm reception! I hadn't been expecting so many alerts and in depth comments. Each time I opened up a notification telling me I had a review or someone was interested enough to put it on their alerts it gave me the warm and fuzzies! At any rate, thank you to my lovely beta Bitch Goddess! I really appreciate her helping me iron out the kinks. Also, I guess now would by the time to remind everyone that this is an A/U story and inform everyone that it will be pretty OOC on most accounts, except for Jasper. So, if OOC bothers you then I guess this isn't for you! But if it doesn't...please do pull up a comfy chair and enjoy!

SM owns everything. I own my purple mac book.

* * *

The hospital was so noisy Bella could scarcely make out her father's voice. Someone was screaming, people were snapping loudly at each other. There had been an accident somewhere, people were hurt and many were dying. Bella looked down at her swollen ankle and immediately wished she could go home. She didn't belong here; the personnel helping her were needed elsewhere. She was fine.

She tried to say as much to Charlie, who ran beside the gurney eyes filled with tears, lips set in a hard line, but the words didn't come. This was the worst she'd ever seen him. The way his face twisted in pure agony made her choke on her indignant feelings. She could remember all of the times she'd scraped her knees or broken a bone, but couldn't pull up a time when he looked so lost.

"It's okay." That was all she could say to him and at those words, he shook his head. She lost him at the door to the ER.

The nurses checked her over, paying special attention to her neck and ankle. It turned out it was only a sprain. A damn sprain!

"I'm fine," she kept saying in formal Russian. "I don't need you."

The nurses looked up from their harried work, clearly irritated with her lack of appreciation. Bella bit her lower lip. She was always saying the wrong thing, stumbling through conversations like a bull in a china shop. Tact wasn't her forte, but thankfully, apologies were.

She smiled and touched the forearm of the nearest nurse and watched the tension drain from her face.

"Thank you," she kept her voice soft and remorseful. The nurses seemed appreciative and finished up with her, promising that they would send her father in shortly. After they left Bella was close to screaming. Why was this happening? What did that man want with her? She'd guessed it had something to do with Charlie, but wanted to keep that possibility as out of mind as she could. She couldn't let him blame himself for this.

Her heart rate accelerated and she took deep breaths to quell it, but it didn't work. She just had to calm down.

Bella inhaled and exhaled deeply, hoping it would pass. She leaned back into the pillows of the stiff hospital bed, flexing the toes in her right foot, glaring at her left. Why did she have to be so damn frail? Her dancer's figure didn't help; her disciplined muscle structure was no match for brute strength. If she could have fought that guy off, at least gouged his eyes or something, maybe she wouldn't be sitting in the hospital now.

Tilting her head back against the pillows, Bella swallowed thickly, and blinked against the garish glow of the fluorescent lights overhead. If she stared hard enough, she could see through to the back of the bulb's casing. Her limbs relaxed until they felt heavy, and her eyelids followed suit. Soon after, calm flooded her mind and body, slowing her racing heartbeat to a minute rhythmic thud. Her eyes opened again and the hospital was a wonder to her.

How did she get here?

Ankle. Her ankle, she glanced at the wrapped limb then towards the door where her blonde savoir leaned against the doorframe. She smiled.

"You made it." Bella murmured, acutely aware of how quickly her body warmed to his presence, she could feel the heat rushing across her skin as he approached slowly.

"I had to make sure you were alright," he said. The deep drawl of his voice was so foreign to her. She knew she and Charlie had come from America, but his voice was thicker than her father's, filled with a deep sweetness Bella needed to hear again.

"Well, it's just a sprain," she said. The look they shared made her heart beat faster and her palms a little damp. She bit into her lower lip and tore her eyes away. He came to a stop beside her bed and she pretended not to notice. She swallowed thickly while studying the intricate wrapping around her ankle. Ignoring his presence all together was difficult; resisting the urge to look into his eyes was torture. Nothing held her attention long enough to quell her curiosity.

"So, you're alright then." he stated more than asked. His fingertips hovered over the bandage, and she mentally begged them to reach down and slide across her exposed calf. Anticipation heightened her senses to a dizzy rise. If only his fingers would drop a little closer.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Bella said, almost afraid to look at him again. It was very possible that she could lose herself in his eyes. Then again, it was very possible that she already had. Everything felt so strange and impossibly good when he was around. She didn't even know his name. She opened her mouth to ask, but the information was presented as if he'd read her thoughts.

"Forgive my rudeness Miss, I know it's a little late for introductions," he said with a strange quirk to his lips. "My name is Jasper Whitlock."

"Jasper." Bella enjoyed the way his name rolled from her lips and into existence; it was so natural. Evidently liked it too, his eyes were closed slightly, lips parted so she could see the perfectly formed, shiny teeth glittering dangerously in the light. His hand dropped, lightly brushing against her leg, sending a shiver down her spine and a hiss flew off her tongue. His hand was as cold as ice and hard as stone, a wonder she wanted to explore. His eyes opened and she knew right then that she was adrift.

"Where are you from, Jasper?" Bella asked. Jasper smiled softly, then took a deep breath before leaning closer. His chest brushed against her shoulder, rock hard muscle beneath thin fabric. Bella shivered and stumbled through her thoughts, which couldn't stop alternating between their conversation and her desire to see what was beneath the light threads.

"Texas," he rumbled, and Bella thought she'd lose it. She'd never been this close to a man other than her father. Dating wasn't allowed and she thought for a moment that maybe it was because it wouldn't have been right until this exact moment. That was preposterous, she had to admit, fate wasn't a belief she held. Chance ruled the world. Opportunity, really, and it had brought her Jasper. For that, she was thankful.

He jerked his hand back just as Charlie burst into the room. Neither of them noticed him at first, nor did they seem to care about trying. It was as if they existed side by side in no other reality but their own.

"Isabella Marie Swan." Charlie's voice was at a warning level.

Jasper's gaze swung from her to Charlie, and then changed so quickly that Bella wasn't quite sure she was seeing things correctly. Jasper radiated a type of anger Bella didn't think any one person was capable of holding. It rolled off him, thickly, and suddenly she felt agitated as well.

"Charlie." her tone of voice was one she'd never used before. She and Charlie fought, but she was the daughter and he was the parent, her voice never left that of her place. Now, it felt equal and both of them stopped to acknowledge it.

"Bella," Charlie's voice was softer now and Jasper calmed right back down. Charlie placed a black duffel bag on the bed. Bella glanced at it. "Get dressed, sweetie, we need to go."

"But—" Bella began, her chin rose in an indignant manner and her face flushed in embarrassment. Charlie glanced between Jasper and Bella and rolled his eyes.

"Kid, do you mind stepping out here while she dresses?" Charlie's words were polite enough, but the force behind them disposed of any anticipation of a pleasant conversation.

Bella's heartbeat picked up when Jasper followed him and peaked when the door shut behind them. She took a deep breath. Everything would be fine. Charlie was just planning to thank him. She stripped down quickly, removing the leotard and tights and replacing them with black jeans and a grey t-shirt. She let her brown hair down from the tight bun and sighed as the strands brushed against her shoulders.

Running her fingers through her hair, she froze when she heard the distinctive click of a pistol being cocked.

* * *

Jasper, for the umpteenth time since his arrival, was surprised at his control. Surprised wasn't even the word. Shocked, appalled, terrified. Those were more appropriate. That he hadn't snapped Bella's father's neck yet was a miracle in and of itself. He'd interrupted—what exactly? Jasper replayed the last few moments with Bella in his mind, shuddering over his need to be close to her, touch her; feel her emotions trembling along with his. He craved her presence almost as much as he craved blood, maybe even more, considering he was standing in a hospital with an ER of bloody accident victims. Charlie didn't even appeal to him. Was he an annoyance? Certainly. Food? Absolutely not. Something told him Bella wouldn't approve of him harming her father.

Jasper scrubbed his face with his palms as he entered the hallway. The door shut behind him and he spun on his heel to face Charlie but found himself looking down the barrel of a pistol instead. He found himself admiring the craftsmanship, trying to discern the manufacturer, inhaling the uniqueness of the gunpowder mixed with the stench of the hospital. The latter was a poor choice of curiosity. Charlie flipped the safety and it took everything Jasper had not to burst into laughter; if the poor bastard only knew how ineffectual the firearm would be against him. He could rip open Charlie's chest and play a tune against his ribcage before Charlie even pulled the trigger. Not to mention, he was already dead.

Behind the door, a soft gasp drew Jasper's attention. Bella. She was scared. He moved towards the door and Charlie blocked his path.

"You're not going anywhere, bright eyes. Not until you answer my questions."

Jasper growled in irritation. Who was he to keep him from _his _Bella? Jasper slid into a slight crouch. He'd rip him apart the minute his finger twitched. Then he could have Bella, he could take her away from here. Reality pulled him from his fantasy.

_Maria_.

Jasper closed his eyes. He'd abandoned all thoughts of her once he'd truly immersed himself in following his instincts. Where was she? He couldn't sense her and though that was a good thing, it was also the worst thing possible. Maria liked to play games; she could dance around her prey for hours before taking action. It horrified him to think that she was only keeping her distance, if he knew her as well as he thought he did, she was hidden somewhere, or using one of her talented newborns to keep an eye on him. Either way, she had to know about Bella by now. Jasper was quite sure she'd take offense to him running off to save a human. She'd punish him and use Bella to do so. A snarl crept its way up his throat and tried to escape, but Jasper swallowed it back. He needed to remain by Bella's side.

"What do you want to know?"

They might as well get this over with. Charlie smiled smugly at him, and Jasper's mouth pooled with venom.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Major Jasper Whitlock," Jasper watched, as the name that scared the shit out of more than half of the vampire world did nothing to impress Charlie, who simply quirked an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a little young to be a Major, son?"

Son? Jasper's jaw clenched tightly, nearly unhinging itself in the process. At a hundred and fifty years Charlie's elder, Jasper was more than old enough. Even when he'd been granted the honor at twenty, he'd old enough. He'd seen more than Charlie could ever imagine.

"I barely made it past 1st lieutenant," Charlie told him. Remorse. Guilt. Searing pain. Jasper couldn't make heads or tails of Charlie's rapidly changing emotions. Maybe Charlie hadn't seen as much as Jasper, but maybe he'd seen just enough.

"What are you doing here?" Charlie asked him, back to business now.

Jasper jerked his head towards the closed door. Charlie rolled his eyes. Annoyance. Aggression. He was certain Jasper was going to hurt them. Jasper worried about the same thing himself. Bella was important to him. He hadn't figured out exactly why, but just the same, he couldn't leave her. He had to make this convincing or he would have a hard time keeping up with them without causing problems.

"Okay, I'll rephrase. Why are you here?"

"I just want to help," Jasper said. "I know you have no reason to trust me."

"You've got that right."

"It just looks like you could use a hand," Jasper said, pushing enough sincerity Charlie's way so that he'd understand that Jasper wasn't a threat, at least not intentionally.

Charlie sighed and Jasper knew that to let him stay on would be going against Charlie's better instincts. He knew because if he were in his place, he'd be just as conflicted. If Bella were his responsibility, he would trust no one but himself. Unlike Charlie, however, he could do the impossible. Impervious to everlasting death, Jasper could protect Bella until the day she died. His undead heart clenched at the reminder of how fragile she was. Any moment could be her last. Death stretched out in front of her, not from behind like with him. Jasper didn't envy Charlie the decision, not one bit.

"Down here."

Jasper heard the whisper before he saw the faces appear beyond Charlie's shoulder. A quick glance at Charlie's face, still screwed up in consternation, gave Jasper the impression that he hadn't heard.

"To your right." Jasper said. Before Charlie had a chance to question, Jasper moved to his side, throwing the door open and hooking his arm through Charlie's free one. Charlie swung around awkwardly. Bullets flew; somewhere down the hallway, a body hit the floor.

Charlie popped off a couple of well-aimed shots before they were completely in the room. At least one other body hit the ground as Jasper slammed the door shut. Charlie holstered his pistol at his side and pulled two semi-automatic handguns from either side of his coat.

"What the hell, Dad?" Bella shouted, staring intently at the two weapons in her father's hands. "Oh no, oh hell no," Bella ground out.

"It'll be okay, I just need to buy us some time." Charlie said, and then nodded in Jasper's direction. He snatched the thick blanket from the bed and tossed it at his daughter. Bella moved forward but the decision was final and binding.

Jasper threw the window open and grabbed Bella around the waist. She struggled futilely against him, kicking and shoving her strength into him, trying to break free and prevent Charlie from taking the calculated risk Jasper would have made in his place.

"He'll be fine," Jasper said, stepping out onto the fire escape and into the icy extremity that awaited them.

The fight went out of her as the cold slammed into her, making her shiver uncontrollably. Jasper took care to wrap the blanket around her. Bella stood on the metal landing glaring at her father as he took his place behind the door. As the door burst open, Jasper's arm slid beneath her knees and around her back, lifting her and cradling her close to his chest. Anger. Fear. Worry. Guilt.

"He's going to be okay," Jasper said. "He wouldn't trust me with you if he weren't."

That seemed to calm her. Unfortunately, it didn't last. Jasper stepped up onto the railing and bullets flew past their heads. Shouting, screaming, the thunderous impact of metal scaring the walls, and bodies were falling everywhere behind them, but it didn't matter because she was safe. Jasper felt content to his core, despite the raging need to protect Bella burning through him. With her in his arms, nothing else mattered.

"Go!" Jasper knew his part in the makeshift plan was done. He pushed away from the railing, leaping into the cold air, and plummeted towards the ground below. Bella screamed in his ear and clung to him as if her life depended on it.

She didn't know how much her life actually did depend on him. He pushed enough tranquility into her to take down an army of men. She went limp in his arms just as they landed, burrowing a hole into the asphalt, resembling a crater on the moon.

Jasper concentrated on the beating of her heart, then on the heartbeats around them. Thankfully, they were around the back of the hospital and faced the forest and not the parking lot. A car pulled up behind him and Jasper growled at the unfamiliar scent that accompanied it. Its color was a faded black, rendering it completely non-descript, with civilian plates on the front. Above them, Charlie climbed down the fire escape.

"Jasper, he's with us!" Charlie shouted.

A man dressed in a black suit got out and held his hands up. Anxiety laced every shuddering breath he took. "Don't worry, Jenks sent me."

Jasper recoiled.

"No," he whispered. "No, no, no."

Charlie approached them, and the man handed him a pair of keys.

"Everything you need is in the trunk," the man explained. "I don't know where you're going but—"

"That's good," Charlie answered. "You don't need to."

Jasper followed Charlie into the car, laying Bella down, carefully, into the back seat. He took his place in the passenger seat.

Charlie strapped himself in and slid the key into he ignition. The car sputtered to life.

"Do you think this will get us to where we need to go?" Jasper questioned.

Charlie chuckled. "She may look like a piece of shit, but she's guaranteed to last."

Jasper snorted and was unable to quell the uneasy feeling settling over him. What did Jenks have to do with Charlie?

* * *

Thanks for reading! Now, let me know what you think! Please? :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry this is so late! I really appreciate every single one of you who've commented, subscribed to, and favorite-ed this story. It means so much to me that you enjoyed my work enough tot take action in order to keep up with it! I apologize for not getting through all of the comment replies but I'll definitely go through them this evening and try to answer any questions I can. I will say that before I wrote this chapter I was still shaky as to how I wanted this story to go but now I'm firmly grounded in the path it'll follow so chapters should begin to be posted more regularly. Jasper and Bella's love story won't be all sunshine and roses. She's never been in love and he's been through a lifetime of manipulation. And Charlie is just as confused as ever.

I'd like to thank my beta "You May Call Me Goddess…Bitch Goddess." For all of her awesomeness and frankness.

As always, I don't own any of them, just the OOC characterizations. : ) I hope you guys enjoy reading!

* * *

Jasper was restless; he hated feeling restless. The hours had ticked by at the safe house, which Jasper had to commend Charlie on constructing underground. Where the money had come from for building the place was a mystery to him. Initially, he wondered if Jenks bank rolled the whole thing, but then began to doubt it. Jenks was rich, not generous. Of that, Jasper was completely sure. He'd delivered payments to him and his father before that. His relationships with the Jenks spanned over a century. Maria liked to keep her dealings with humans secret, and Jasper had been the only one she trusted.

From these dealings, Jasper knew first hand, Jenks was not to be trusted.

That he was involved in any way with the sleeping angel Jasper sat beside, who was the very source of his restlessness, caused his rage to surface. Bella hadn't opened her eyes for a day and a half. He could feel Charlie beginning to worry, but Jasper had kept him busy, going over the things they needed in order to make their run. After settling Bella in her bed, Charlie took care to get Jasper's picture for a passport and identification papers. This would be the final push of their luck as far as Maria was concerned.

The moment Jasper's face crossed Jenks' desk, his stubby little fingers would be dialing her number. Jasper ground his teeth together to keep his growls from escaping. If only he could get to Jenks. He'd convince him that he was the one that should truly be feared. Maria wouldn't kill Jasper. She'd punish him with the deaths of Bella and Charlie, collect him, and then try to convince him that he needed her.

Jasper stood quickly, hissing as the image of Bella's lifeless body invaded his thoughts, knocking the chair over in the process. He caught it before it could clatter against the hardwood floor and then considered letting it drop in an attempt to rouse her from her sleep. Guilt flooded him. He'd done this to her. He didn't want her to be afraid when they hit the ground, so he made her sleep. It wasn't the first time he'd poured so much of his power into a human; he knew it would work. Trouble was, it worked too well and she'd ended up with unforeseen side effects.

He'd tried, since they arrived, to wake her up. He gave off small waves of alertness first and then larger ones when no reaction came. Nothing. He couldn't feel her either, hence his need to keep Charlie planning and plotting upstairs. He sent him waves of confusion and concern whenever he thought his planning was finished, sending Charlie off running through their plans with a fine-tooth comb. Bella was with them and not, all at once. At the very least, he should have been able to feel what her dreams brought her or at least some sense of tranquility. To detect absolutely nothing was frustrating, and to know that there was nothing he could do about it made everything worse. He was guilty. Whoever was after them was guilty. And Jasper was sure that, most of all, Jenks was guilty.

Leaning over her sleeping form, Jasper brushed an errant strand of hair from her face. If Jenks brought on her death—if he ended up with her blood on his hands—Jasper would rip him to pieces. He'd take turns numbing him and letting him feel the pain outright. In the end, he'd make him beg for Jasper to drink him dry, and then, finally, Jasper would let him know that for him, relief would never come.

"Bella," Jasper murmured. "I don't know what you've done to me, little one."

A small smile crossed her lips and Jasper couldn't stop the grin that broke out over his face. Every part of her connected to him in a strange way he didn't understand. When she was screaming in terror at their jump, he wanted to make it better. When that man had her pinned against the wall, he wanted to destroy him for even thinking that he could lay a finger on her. Now, with the light scratching of his throat, Jasper knew he needed to feed but couldn't tear himself away from her. It wasn't logical thinking. If he didn't feed soon it was likely that he'd be a danger to Bella and Charlie. That was something he could not have. Maybe he'd take a walk in another hour if she didn't wake up.

He chuckled and pulled the covers over her shoulders and up to her neck. Even for this short while, being around Bella made him count the hours. As a vampire, he'd never needed to do so; time was nothing to him but endless days and nights. Here, now, he tallied up each breath she took in every second.

To his excitement, her pattern changed. Bella's body stilled and her eyes cracked open. She was out of the bed faster than Jasper imagined possible for a human. Her back hit the wall beside the bed with a soft thud. Her heart was thundering in the silence between them, but he was more interested with the excited flashing of her eyes and the dramatic bouncing of her emotions that he was very thankful to be able to sense again. She went from fear, to concern, and then to anger. Her gaze lowered, slipping down his body slowly, before stopping at his legs.

How unusual. He thought she'd be happy to see him. He growled at her furrowed brows and scrunched up nose. What the hell was wrong with her? She jumped at his growl, gaze flickering back up to meet his. Her breathing became erratic. Panic. Fury. Lust. She began to shake beneath the weight of her constant changes. He was surprised she hadn't dropped to her knees by now in an attempt to relieve the crushing weight of what she felt.

Bella shook her head and he couldn't feel her anymore. He was at a loss. Nothing was more confusing to him than the emotions of humans. What did she want? What did she need? An embrace? Sweet words? Could he placate her into coming to him so that he could show her he meant no harm?

"Bella," Jasper said in a voice no louder than a harsh whisper. "It's me. I'm not going to hurt you."

Thankfully, Bella nodded. Jasper was relieved; that was, until she opened her mouth and let out a piercing scream.

* * *

"Bella," Jasper repeated in a voice that was sweet, yet commanding, ending her scream slowly but surely. Bella was torn between buckling beneath her rapidly changing emotions and running. Fight. Flight. .

The words blinked before her eyes in neon signs. She just needed to pick one. That was the hard part. She wanted to go to Jasper and have his arms around her once more. At the same time, she remembered that the last time she spent any amount of time in his arms they were both plummeting towards black asphalt via a hospital window. Speaking of that particular instance. Why the hell weren't his legs broken? It had to be at least a sixty-foot drop!

"What's wrong with your legs?" Bella asked gasping for the air she'd been missing since her minor panic attack. Everything about Jasper sent her body into a frenzy of lust and alarm. Part of her wanted to run. The other part begged her to stay.

Jasper looked down then back to her. "Nothing. Why would there be—oh."

While Jasper looked like he was mentally slapping himself, Bella made her move, skirting past the bed and him to get to the door. She didn't know where she was going. Hell, she didn't even know where she was. What she did know was that a gust of wind at her back pushed her forward into a hard wall. Bella blew out a harsh breath and looked up into golden brown eyes.

"Well, shit," Bella ground out. The sudden stop sent a jolt of pain through her ankle. She took another deep breath and told herself the pain was only temporary.

"Do you kiss your father with that mouth?" Jasper asked with a satisfied smirk on his face that made Bella want to punch him and kiss him all at once. She took a step back and realized that it was a bad idea. She hissed and leaned on the wall.

"Charlie's got just as bad a potty mouth as I do," Bella replied and Jasper nodded his head in agreement. "Do you mind getting out of my way? How the hell did you do that anyway?"

"Do you mind telling me how you're walking?"

"Only if you do the same? A sprain is no match for broken legs, which a sixty foot drop will most definitely cause."

"You're exaggerating," Jasper explained.

Bella rolled her eyes. She might not have known the exact distance from her third story room to the ground, but she knew that he should, at least, have a limp. He moved towards her and Bella backed up, hissing again.

"Let me take care of that for you," Jasper pleaded. He looked desperate, and while he towered over her, Bella had to admit there was no way past him, not with her ankle screaming in pain. She gnawed her lower lip, and then looked up at him.

"How about you help me find my dad?"

"Only if you don't scream and run away from me again," Jasper answered, crossing his arms across his chest. Bella mulled it over with a shake of her head.

"I trust you, you just scared me," she said. "So, can we go now?"

"So, you trust me," Jasper said stepping aside. Bella began to amble past him when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist. Caught once again between struggling and enjoying the strange contentment she let out a growl that appeared to have shocked them both. The only indication that Jasper had been caught off guard was that his movement stilled completely.

Bella's shoulders slumped and she nodded in acceptance. Jasper's arms resumed their work, one wrapping securely around her lower back and the other sweeping her legs out from beneath her, lifting her with no visible effort. Bella cast him a sideways look.

"If you'd like to walk the rest of the way, be my guest." Jasper's lips twitched while he spoke. He only broke out into a full on grin when he nodded down the dimly lit hallway. "I must warn you, darlin', it's a long ass walk."

Bella replied with a shit-eating grin of her own and shook her head. "I don't mind you carrying me. As long as you tell me everything I want to know."

"Darlin' there may be some things I have to say that you don't want to know."

"Bring it on, cowboy," she did her best southern accent and Jasper winced. "Oh, c'mon, that's how Clint Eastwood would have said it."

"Well, this Clint Eastwood wouldn't have lasted a day in my Texas." Jasper rumbled.

He started to walk down the corridor that would supposedly lead them to her father. Bella had to admit that she was impressed with the decor of the place. The walls were lined with a crème colored paint and the carpet was a tasteful grey. She decided instantly that Charlie couldn't have had anything to do with it. Charlie was, well, Charlie. Their home was quaint, but nothing like she'd seen in movies. Right about now, she felt as if James Bond were carrying her down the hallway of a secret hideout. Which reminded her…

"Where are we?" Bella inquired.

"In a safe house. We're still in Russia, though," Jasper said. "I don't know which town, but we're at least a hundred miles away from St. Petersburg."

"How did we get here?"

"In your dad's mini van."

Bella laughed and then looked at his stony expression and laughed again, harder this time.

"We…escaped…in a mini van?" She asked slowly. A smile slipped across Jasper's lips, illuminating his whole face. She suddenly didn't remember why she'd been afraid of him earlier.

"Not exactly. But the piece of crap might as well have been," he responded with a shrug. "Too bad you weren't awake to see him going a hundred miles an hour down the highway. I didn't think he had it in him to bob and weave through traffic like that."

"I didn't think he would ever be so adept at dodging bullets either," Bella's voice was soft. Jasper held her tighter, and she relaxed, even snuggling into his chest.

"I guess nothing was ever as I thought," she said, pulling her lower lip into her mouth with her teeth. Jasper's thumb ran back and forth across her shoulder.

"Do you know what's going on, Jasper?"

He shook his head and she believed him. He had no reason not tell her the truth as far as she could see. Besides that, there was something about him that drew her in so easily and comfortably that she didn't feel like putting in the effort to challenge him. It was so simple.

"How long was I out?"

"A day and a half. We were beginning to get worried you wouldn't wake up." Jasper answered.

"Oh," Bella said then looked down at the passing carpet. "Sorry about that. I guess I couldn't handle everything that was happening. It was all going so fast."

Jasper opened his mouth to say something but they had reached a door and, hopefully, more answers. Bella tapped his arm and he let her down, gently holding her until her feet touched the ground. From the hallway, she could hear her father grumbling about money.

"Something the matter?"

Bella's teeth bit into her lower lip. "I want to know."

"Don't be afraid of the truth, Bella," Jasper's voice was hard and as she glanced up at him, she wondered when he'd ever been afraid of anything.

"Easier said than done," Bella replied wrapping her hand around the doorknob and turning it clockwise. "That's all I'm saying."

Upon entering the room, Bella was surprised to find that it was more like a library than a study, with a chaise lounge to her far left and countless books. A library with a bed; she could get used to that. The room was shaped like an octagon with each shelf of books making a corner with the one beside it. In the center was a desk, which housed a computer, a few piles of paper, and Charlie. She watched Jasper move to one of the corners, of which there were many, and pluck a red book from one of the shelves.

Charlie, who sat hunched over the screen of his laptop, glanced over at her, and promptly slammed the contraption shut. He swept her up in a hug that threatened to squeeze the life out of her, before he sat them both down on the chaise with an arm still wrapped around her shoulders.

"I'm so happy you're alright," his voice was tight with emotion, and his eyes were wet with tears he'd never let fall. "You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorr-"

Charlie waved away her apology and she could have sworn she'd heard Jasper sniggering in the corner. By the time she looked back over at him his eyes were moving feverishly over the page.

"What's going on, Dad?" Bella asked and Charlie's muscles stiffened. His jaw tightened and he stood, kissed the top of her forehead, and then walked towards the desk.

"I want you to know everything Bells. Really, I do."

"Then tell me, Dad," Bella pulled her knees to her chest and ignored the pressure it placed on her ankle. She was too interested in dragging the truth out of her father to care about her injury. "Look," she started when there was no response. "I know it's going to be hard, but obviously, leaving me in the dark about everything hasn't helped us at all."

She was right. She knew it even before the truth registered on Charlie's face and he hung his head in defeat. She hated to see him so distraught, but things wouldn't get better if she were ignorant of the dangers surrounding them.

"Alright, Bells," Charlie said. "Get comfortable."

She wiggled further into the chaise and looked at him expectantly. She noticed that even Jasper peeked at him from over the top of his book in interest. Jasper needed to know too. Especially if he decided to stay with them. Why that was, Bella couldn't discern, but it was another problem for another day. Right now she wanted answers about their past, and currently, Charlie was the only one who could give them.

"It all started when I came back from my first tour of duty in the Army," Charlie stated. Bella's eyebrows shot up. Her father in the Army? That was a little unbelievable considering all that she'd ever learned about her mother.

"I left, because your mother refused my marriage proposal outright. She wanted to go off to college and figure out what life meant. I felt that everything I needed to know about life was right before me. Renee was my whole world, my entire life, I couldn't imagine being without her."

"Then why did you leave?" Bella asked. Charlie shook his head vehemently.

"It's not important. Only that I did," Charlie said. "When I came back and I found your mother pregnant, we married immediately, I finished out my term of service the next year and joined the Forks police force while she attended community college. When I joined up, I was able to move easily through the ranks due to my experience, I was ranked as a deputy inspector within a year and a half."

"That's more important than why you left mom?" Bella had crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Charlie. Charlie glared right back until Jasper cleared his throat.

"Sorry," Jasper murmured, still looking at his book. "I felt a tickle in my throat."

"It will be important if you listen carefully, Bella," Charlie said. Bella rolled her eyes and waved her hand for him to continue.

"Thank you, dear," Charlie said sarcastically before continuing. "You were about two and a half when those gangsters started to move into town. They stuck out like sore thumbs; well dressed, without a lick of manners or patience in the whole bunch. They kept to themselves though, and at that point we had no reason to mount an investigation, but I knew something was wrong. It was in the air the moment I first saw one in the local diner while on a date with your mother."

"You and mom went on dates?" Bella couldn't help adding with a smile. She could imagine her father dressing up in a worn pair of slacks to take her mom on a night out on the town.

"Yeah," Charlie said, looking far away, and for just a moment looking younger than he was. Bella surmised they must have been good times. Not all of their past had been bad if it brought such a wistful look to his face. However, it didn't stay that way for long, Charlie's eyebrows rose, then fell as he blinked away what must have been a good memory. Bella rose from her seat and walked gingerly to him, laying her hand on his shoulder.

"Was she beautiful that night, Dad?"

"She was beautiful every day." Charlie muttered before scooting back in his chair, and ushering Bella to take his place.

"This part needs visual aid."

He moved his fingers along the mouse pad and began clicking once the screen lit up. He pulled up a slideshow of mean looking men. Bella shook her head slightly at the idea of Charlie compiling the Power Point over night just to show her who to look out for.

"These are the men I mentioned."

He flipped slowly through ten pictures of men. None of them had a pleasant face, except one near the end. Bella tapped her finger against his closed mouth smile.

"Who's that?"

"That, Bella, is Jackson Levitt," Charlie answered in a solemn tone. "I'm showing you these pictures so that if you ever see any of these men you'll know to put as much distance between you and them as humanly possible. In Jackson's case, run, don't walk, don't think to try and find me. I want you to find the nearest exit, find the nearest cab or car, and leave."

Bella flat out refused. Charlie glared at her impudence.

"No, Dad," Bella repeated herself. "I'm not leaving you behind."

"What do you think the entire point of this is?" Charlie asked her.

¶Bella shrugged. "How can I know if you won't tell me anything? You insist on keeping me on a need to know basis!"

"Bella, you can't handle this!"

"I can't handle it? I've been attacked and shot at in the past 72 hours!"

"Exactly, and you've been unconscious since you got caught up in all of this." Charlie countered.

Bella pushed back from the desk to stand and Jasper was at her side instantly to help her up. "I don't need your help!" she shouted, holding her hand up to keep him at bay.

She struggled to keep her balance and not put any unnecessary pressure on her ankle. Beside her, Jasper growled, and although it was unusual to hear, she echoed his sentiment. Charlie had promised her the truth and she needed to hear it. What if something happened to her? What if she died never knowing why her life was the way it was, why her mother had to die.

"Someday, Charlie, you're going to have to accept that I'm not the fragile little girl that you think I am." Bella ground out. Charlie heaved a heavy sigh and Bella knew he was probably pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head at her. She wouldn't budge on this.

"You are just like your mother." Charlie ground out.

"Good, I'll take that as a compliment!" Bella shouted, twisting around to look him in the eyes. What she saw there wasn't the Charlie she knew. This man was broken, ravaged by guilt, worry, and who knew what else. He squared his shoulders and glowered at her. Jasper's growling increased in volume.

"Don't," Charlie spat venomously. "The truth isn't all sunshine and roses, Bella."

"You think I don't know that, Charlie?"

"No, I really don't think you get it. I tried to protect your mother. I kept security on her at all times. She wouldn't listen, was stubborn, and in denial about the entire situation and it got her killed. These bastards killed her." Charlie said, turning Bella back around so she could see the murderous faces that were so instrumental in the course of her life.

"No," Bella whispered. She knew by now that her mother had been killed, but had assumed it was some sort of accident. It could have been a car crash, a sickness, or something. It occurred to her now, while looking at the faces of the angry men staring back at her, that she had met a violent end.

"She was murdered," Bella said quietly. The room seemed colder and more empty. Her mother had died alone in the worst possible way. What chance did she have now? What about Charlie?

"W-what did they do to her?"

Charlie hesitated. He was keeping things tightly wrapped up again.

"Dad, either you start telling me the whole truth or I leave."

She heard him sigh behind her and turned ever so slightly to see him jam his fingers into his hair and clutch the strands. He took a deep breath then looked down at her with a soft and reassuring smile. It was guarded; she'd seen it enough to tell the difference. She felt rather than saw Jasper step to her side.

"Bella," He said, and then took a deep breath, as if emphasizing the strain he was under just by answering her.

"You can't just go running off."

"Why not?" She pressed her hands against the desk and slowly pushed herself up. Jasper's hands immediately went to her shoulders to steady her. The simple touch sent a shock racing up and down her spine and forced a soft gasp from her lips. She ached to lean back into him but shook off the notion.

"You're injured for starters-"

"I can play hurt, we've both seen that," she had to grit her teeth to prevent the full force of her anger from escaping. "I'm not some child you have to keep locked up."

"I'm not going to let you become a broken and battered mess like her" Charlie ground out. "If you keep digging you'll end up right beside her!"

There was a startled shout followed by a heavy thud and a loud crack.

Bella turned to her right to see Charlie pinned to the bookcase with Jasper's hands around his throat. Her chest filled with a sharp pain she hadn't known existed. Her body shook and her legs weakened, causing her to grip onto the desk with all her remaining strength.

"Jasper," Bella tried calmly, then louder when he didn't stop. Charlie's beet red face was accompanied by small choking noises that reminded her of the 'glub glub' noise fish made when gasping for their last breath, and yet she couldn't find the energy to move forward and stop what was happening. Her mind screamed at her to find a way, but her limbs wouldn't comply with the command. It was as if something had invaded her system and overrode her motor functions to a different design. She concentrated on saving Charlie, and pushed all of her energy through her body to get herself to move.

"Jasper!" She shouted instead, surprising herself and thankfully, Jasper as well. Charlie dropped to the floor breathing heavily and glaring up at Jasper. Meanwhile, the big Texan stood calm and sure over him. He didn't speak, move, or even breathe. His eyes were the only contradiction to the passive expression his face held. She watched them slowly turn darker with each passing second until he inhaled deeply and spoke in a ragged voice.

"Don't ever speak to her like that again."

He turned to her, too quickly for Bella's liking as she nearly fell over, leaving her stunned at the speed, scenario, and the return of the fear she'd felt earlier. She could also move again freely.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, then repeated it more solemnly. "I-" Jasper appeared to be at a loss for words as were both Bella and Charlie. Without another announcement or apparent thought he rushed to the door, leaving it wide open, and quite empty in the seconds after his retreat. Somewhere close by, a door opened and slammed shut.

"What the fuck was that?" Charlie choked out while pawing at the red mark on his neck.

Hell if Bella knew. Her chest was no longer in pain, but she felt empty, as if she'd just suffered the greatest loss of her life. She forced back a sob. She didn't know him well enough to care either way about him, but the feeling remained and she assumed it wouldn't let up until he returned. If he returned.

Charlie struggled to his feet and came to stand before her, apologizing profusely for his cruel words.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he rocked back on his heels and dropped into the desk chair. "Everything will be okay."

"Why are they after us?" Bella kept her voice soft, alternately listening to the safe house for an indication that Jasper was coming back. "What did you do?"

"I put their families in jail. I destroyed everything they worked for and they intend to return the favor," Charlie answered. Bella stiffened and alarm flooded her system. Her heartbeat took off at a harried pace.

"Don't worry Bella, I've got it all under control."

Her mind wasn't there anymore. She moved around the desk and continued forward, ignoring the pain in her ankle until it was near non-existent. She could hear Charlie behind her moving to stop her and she broke out into a full run. Instinct drove her into a whirlwind of dread. Something was the matter and she'd bet any amount of money in the world that Jasper had something to do with it.

* * *

Is Charlie being too overprotective because of what happened with Renee? Or is he a little justified in his fears? Is Bella just being too bratty?

Let me know what you think! 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait. If I still have any readers out there I hope you accept my heartfelt apology. Real Life has a funny way of kicking you in the ass and preventing you from doing what you want to do. I hope you guys enjoy. This is unbeta'd so any mistakes here are my own.

Disclaimer: I own no part of the Twilight Saga I just like to play with the characters.

Jasper roared and ripped another tree from the otherwise quiet landscape. He'd run far enough from the safe house so that the two humans inside wouldn't notice the destruction he intended to cause. So far, it turned out to be a splendid idea.

He hoisted the hundred-year-old Chinese Oak over his shoulder and chucked it several miles away from him. Before the sound of the crash could reach his extraordinary hearing, he already had his arms around the trunk of another, this time an, already marred, maple tree. He twisted until the roots cracked in a chorus of submission then tossed it aside. It wasn't much work to do so.

His strength could have allowed him to lift trees five times the size of the ones he was destroying and his speed would have given him the time to destroy a whole forest in a matter of seconds. Oddly enough though, he was enjoying the slow burn in his muscles as he controlled his abilities, tuning them as if he were human and his body could only go so far.

The restraint was satisfying when he reached his goal prompting several human memories of his family's old ranch to creep up into his thoughts. He was grateful and smiled into the trunk of his next victim as he pulled and stretched the roots beyond their ability.

It was a welcome distraction from visions of draining Charlie, after having dismembered, him dancing happily in his head. It had been a weak moment for the man. Charlie was stern but Jasper could sense it was merely a corrective measure rather than a need to control Bella. After having carried the burden of keeping them safe and hidden all these years only to find his efforts so easily destroyed he was worn thin emotionally and mentally. Charlie was at the end of his rope and Bella choosing to step out of her carefully created box had knocked him down completely.

He was terrified. But it didn't give him the right to lay into Bella like that. Jasper looked around him to find no more trees within his immediate reach and stalked off, the itch in his throat finally getting the best of him.

He knew it was better that he lose control away from Bella rather than right beside her but his entire body began to ache with each step he took that led him away from the safe house.

"What the hell?" He murmured, slowing down enough to assess the problem. He was a vampire. He didn't get tired, his body didn't ache beyond his control, and he damn sure had no heart to cause him the palpitations he was experiencing. He doubled over feeling as if a great weight had pressed down upon him.

"Stay."

The voice was soft, yet forceful and masculine. When he tried to move again his body was shoved into the dirt. If he were still human his organs would have burst from the strain he was under of which he could only compare to the heel of a hand crushing an egg. Five points of pressure dug into his skin and yet Jasper couldn't smell or sense a single soul nearby. He reached out with his gift in an attempt to pick up on anything closing in and growled when he detected glee and malice.

"The resistance is useless."

Jasper turned his head with great effort and stopped at the short screech his skin made when it was torn. He might as well have been trying to lift a skyscraper with just his head.

"Go ahead, let him decapitate himself, we'll send the great Major back to his mistress in a box," the voice said.

Someone chuckled and Jasper thought he could tell how close he or she was. His gaze shifted left to right across the expansive barren field. His eyesight blurred in thanks for his attempt and he hissed his frustration when the pressure was applied on either side of his eyeballs, as if someone had pinched them between their thumb and forefinger.

His muscles strained against the force that controlled them. Unwillingly his eyes snapped shut and an intense weight on his eyelids kept them that way. He snarled in indignation. His faculties were being cut off one by one and instantly he began to wonder who'd been sent to collect him. It was no one he knew personally or had ever met.

This power was unique and the only match he could think of was Alec of the Volturi. Alec could make a vampire deaf in blind in an instant if he wished. Jasper knew of no one who'd survived to tell how. He calmed himself and focused on his remaining senses.

He sniffed the air and came up with the mixture of earth, fresh water, and freesia accompanied by a wildly beating heart. His muscles reacted, pushing harder against the force holding him down.

Bella couldn't be here. She just couldn't. Not now with Maria or possibly the Volturi afoot. He found himself hoping that if it had to anyone it were the Kings themselves. At least they might offer her the chance to be turned. Maria would torture her before his very eyes to make a point.

As if sensing his horror his puppeteer pulled back his eyelids and allowing him a slowly refocusing view of Bella racing toward him and calling his name. He called back to her, expecting her to turn around. She just stood there, still dressed in her pajamas, trying to find him.

"Bella!" Jasper screamed. She glanced around, her legs bent in a crouch that looked funny considering she was human. Something wasn't right and his fears were confirmed when she took off in a sprint. In the distance a male vampire with long black hair dropped out of a tree and landed softly a few feet from Bella, which sent her running back in his direction.

Jasper's fingers dug deep into the soil and his body strained to go after her as the unknown closed in. Girlish laughter echoed through the clearing. Bella screamed in terror as the vampire wrapped his long arms around her waist and held her tight against his chest.

"Such a pity," he whispered before sinking his teeth into a spot on her shoulder. Bella hissed and screamed in agony. She twisted in his arms while more vampires arrived. Most of them he recognized as members of Maria's Army.

"No!" Jasper growled as each one took a bite forcing a scream from her.

He closed his eyes and shoved forward in an effort to force the earth to give way to his demands for movement. The muck beneath him yielded, slowly but surely, as he tore and clawed himself free of it and began pushing upwards and onto his knees.

Bella, he had to get to Bella.

She was screaming for him to save her now and more than anything he needed to protect her. No one had the right to touch her let alone bite her. His shoulder blades bowed with effort as his back arched so that he could pull his knees underneath him.

Whatever it was, it wasn't able to hold him for long. The pressure was lifting and the ground vibrated against his knees. A piercing scream pile drove through his ear canal creating a ringing sensation. His eyes opened to a haze filled vision that sharpened quickly. His senses came screaming back to him as he sniffed the air and smelled Bella nearby. How badly was she hurt? His gaze darted about the clearing to find the one lone male vampire who was dressed in a grey suit and a red cloak staring down at him in disbelief.

Jasper didn't recognize the long dark hair or the well-kept face, but he did notice that the man carried no marks of ownership or challenge. He couldn't be in Maria's camp. No one left there without a souvenir set of bite marks to remember Maria by—if they escaped at all.

Everything was clear now especially the feel of Bella's hands on his shoulders shaking him. He stood and reached back to paw at her sides to be sure she was really all right and to be sure that she knew to stay behind him. Somehow between the time he'd been down and the time she'd gotten to him, she'd buried her face into the fabric of his shirt. The slight nod of agreement to keep back meant her forehead running up his spine. He breathed deeply when the cascade of arousal tickled his gift.

Jasper had felt lust in this life more times than he cared to count but this was different, so familiar, and powerful that it almost brought him to his knees again. The vampire took a step forward and Jasper growled angrily.

"Who the hell are you?" Jasper snarled.

"That doesn't matter," the man's voice was like silk. His red eyes moved about Jasper and Bella, assessing and searching for an opening. Jasper had seen it done hundreds of times on the battlefield, to himself and his soldiers, and smiled darkly. No one that had ever given him _that_ look survived to speak about their meeting.

"I think its best that we drain the girl and you come with me, Jasper," the man said. Jasper hissed at the words. No one touched her. She was his!

"Mine," Jasper growled and reached back again despite his unparalleled senses being able to tell him she was there. She took his hand.

"What's going on, Jasper?"

"Ah, I see."

"I'm not going to ask you again," Jasper spoke in a low warning tone.

"She has no idea who or what you are, does she? And yet she is your mate."

Jasper could feel her confusion and sent her a dose of confidence and reassurance to stall it. There would be no going back after this for either of them. Once she knew she'd be bound to keep his secret and become like him or die.

"No snappy retort for me?"

"I save those for close acquaintances, of which you aren't. Bella, don't move."

"So, touchy, maybe we should give her a demonstration of your abilities. Hmm?"

"Be my guest, as long as you don't mind ending up a pile of ashes," Jasper replied.

"We'll see if you can move faster than my Nita's power can infect you."

Jasper moved and a shock sped through him the moment he left her hands. The other vamp went high whereas Jasper went low attaching his lips at the hip and grasping the man's thigh with his hands. He removed the leg in one move and relished in the metallic scream his actions caused. With the leg gone his opponent landed on his remaining knee. Jasper sniffed the air, caught the scent of the man's companion, and chucked the leg in her direction. Nita, as she had been called, charged him. Jasper glanced at Bella who stood sputtering in shock.

"What the hell! You just—you—"

"Bella don't move."

"Are you out of your fucking mind? You just tore his leg off!"

"He wants to kill you Bella and take me. It's not like I can sit down for tea in the woods and ask him to spare you and leave me alone."

Bella ran her fingers through her hair and watched the vampire a few feet away hiss and roar in their direction. She gasped but didn't say another word.

"Still, Bella. We're not out of the woods yet."

An enraged shriek broke the calm and Nita came racing into view. Her pale skin and red eyes set off the long black curls that whipped around her face. Jasper hadn't been sure that she'd simply go after him or take out her rage on Bella, as she was the weaker party. Jasper crouched low and followed the path her emotions took. Revenge. Anger. Pity. Jasper turned slightly towards the human girl.

"Jasper." Bella called out as Nita came closer. Jasper smirked but afforded her no answer. Fear started to fill the girl beside him. Nita came closer and glanced at her injured companion before leaping towards Bella.

"Jasper!" Bella screamed and fell back as he leapt before her. His body crashed into Nita's sending them both crashing the ground still struggling as they made a small crater in the dirt. She planted her foot in his chest and rolled, sending him up in the air. It seemed Nita was more experienced than her friend. Once she was on her feet she smiled at him and gravity pulled him back to the terrain—hard.

"Stop! Get away from him!"

"Filthy human." Nita ground out. She glanced over her shoulder to smile sweetly at Bella. Her voice carried a deep southern accent that reminded Jasper too much of home.

"Don't you worry darlin' I'll finish you off in a moment. You'll be the perfect snack to help heal my mate."

"Jasper, you should have known better than to run from your Mistress," Nita said when she turned back to him knowing full well that he couldn't speak, not when it felt like two tons of metal was being ground into his back.

"Hey!" Bella moved forward behind Nita, racing forward foolishly to Jasper's rescue. He felt a mixture of pride and horror fill him up and lodge in his throat as he tried to shout to her to run. Apparently, Maria had a new toy and this Nita was it. She could manipulate his body and mind to see and feel what she wanted.

"I said, get away from him!"

Nita snorted derisively and threw Jasper a backward glance. "Don't go anywhere."

She then turned her back on him and the weight slowly started to lift again. He pushed against it, fighting the intense pressure with all he had. Bella needed him.

A startled screech drew his attention to the scene before him as Nita flew over his head and the weight was lifted completely. Bella was on her knees breathing heavily and clawing at the grass with a feral look in her eyes. Jasper immediately took off after Nita, who'd landed no more than ten feet away, and tore her body limb from limb, leaving her head still attached.

He scattered her parts around them so that they were far apart from each other. Bella seemed to catch her breath and looked up at him with startled eyes when he approached.

"Are you okay?"

"Are you?" Jasper asked kneeling down in front of her. He reached out to her and she shrank back.

"Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Do you want to tell me how you're walking or what the hell you just did to Nita?"

"That's—personal."

"Right. Square one."

"Are they okay?"

"If they can find their limbs, maybe. They may have company soon and I'd rather us not be here when they find them."

Jasper dug around in his pockets and thanked the heavens that the man he'd stolen the pants from smoked. He pulled out silver lighter and held it up.

"Take this and once I've pulled them apart I need you to light it and toss it at them."

"We're going to burn them alive!"

"Bella trust me, that sure as hell beats what they were going to do to you."

"You're asking me to help you murder people," She ground out.

"I'm asking you to help me kill two vampires who would have no problem murdering you and your father to get to me," Jasper said. He reached out again and this time she let his fingertips graze her chin and then allowed him to venture further and cup her cheeks in his hands. He was surprised to see her melt beneath his touch.

"Bella, if we don't do this, we'll be running from them from now on, too. Please let me end them."

He didn't need her permission. They both knew that it was a fact that he could burn them whether she wanted him to or not. For some unknown reason he wanted it though. He wanted her approval before he made another move.

She looked straight at him and he had to admit that she either had one hell of a figurative set of balls or she had no sense of self-preservation. Her eyes widened in realization and her gaze darted about his features as if putting it all together and seeing him anew. She wasn't afraid. Not of him.

She nodded and he stepped back, running to where the man struggled to stand on his remaining leg and tackled him to the ground. Seconds later he had him split up in several parts and placed in a neat pile. He gathered Nita together and brought her to the pile holding her body up so she could watch.

"If I could trust you to deliver the message I'd let you go but this will have to suffice. I can't have you coming after us."

"She'll find you. She's gotten this close. What makes you think she won't come all the way?"

"Because if she were going to do that she'd have done it already instead of sending two peons like you and dumbass over there."

"His name is David." She growled at him and took a snap at him. Jasper nodded at Bella and she lit the lighter and tossed it at David's remains. They went up in smoke instantly. Jasper smiled at Nita who began howling in pain.

"Let me go with him."

"How many came with you?"

"Jasper don't you think this is a bit much?"

"We have to know Bella, if we want any chance of survival against them."

"Bella is it? You'd better hope to God that Maria doesn't find out about her," Nita said in a singsong voice. "Useful or not, that little bitch over there will burn right before your eyes as a living breathing corpse or a drained one. Maybe she'll make her suffer many deaths for the added benefit of showing you that you're hers. Her army will see to that and whatever else she wills."

Venom pooled in Jasper's mouth at the thought. Maria would never have Bella. He'd see to that if it meant his end. Without another word he hurled Nita into the pit of fire, taking care to add her arms and legs to the steadily building flames.

"We have to go, Bella," Jasper said. He looked over to her and watched her eyes glaze over in the flickering light. He reached out, pulled her to him, and backed them away from the fire.

"You're like them, aren't you?"

"I'm one of them. I'm not like them. Not since you came into my life," Jasper answered. She turned around to face him.

"Why are they after you?"

"My sire, Maria, is a very powerful vampire. I abandoned her when her hold slipped on me."

"Her hold?"

"I caught your scent," he continued sheepishly. "I couldn't stop running until I found you."

"So she's after you to get you back," Bella said. Her face scrunched in distaste. Jasper smiled. She didn't seem to like it any more than he did. Either that or he wasn't the only one feeling attached and protective.

"Just about," Jasper said then broke contact with her. He stepped back and put an uncomfortable amount of distance between them.

"I need you to know how sorry I am for I dragging you into this. It wasn't my intent, I didn't know where I was going and I was drawn, pulled towards you."

Bella shook her head. "How much more trouble can I get in? It feels like death is kind of imminent."

"Not for you. I won't let it," Jasper said.

Bella shook her head. "So, you're a vampire, huh?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you catch me if I run?"

"Like a leopard can pounce upon a gazelle."

"Okay, what if I try to fight you?"

"I could over power you within seconds. Actually, you'd probably hurt yourself unless you do that thing you did earlier—what was that again?"

"Personal, remember?"

"I do, a vampire's memory is unparalleled as are their senses."

"That's how you could sniff me out."

Jasper nodded. "I should probably leave you. Me being so close will only draw more attention from Maria. That and I could potentially eat you in your sleep."

"But you won't?" Bella asked.

"You won't eat me or leave me."

More like couldn't if he tried on both accounts. He moved forward closing the gap and feeling at peace once more. "Your safety is more important than mine."

"What if I don't agree with that?"

"You're stuck with me no matter what."

Bella laughed and the sound was beautiful to him.

"What's next?"

"We need to get Charlie and run as far away and as fast as we can."

"You're not going to try and kill him again are you?" Bella asked. Jasper scooped her up in his arms once again feeling that the motion was more right than his need to feed, which he would need to do again soon. He started to run in the direction of the house, cris-crossing through the land of dismantled trees.

"Not unless he hurts you like he earlier. I didn't like the way he spoke to you."

"Charlie's a bit high strung when he's stressed. He didn't mean anything he said. At least I don't think so."

"He didn't. Still doesn't mean I have to like it."

Bella shook her head and inadvertently nuzzled into his neck. He picked up his pace and ran at vampiric speed. Bella held on tighter and looked up at him with wide eyes and an exhilarated smile. It had him thinking that just maybe things would work out. With Bella knowing his secret he could more easily and quickly hide Bella and Charlie from their enemies and his. He could keep them safe. He could her safe. It amazed him how quickly his priorities had changed in the past few days.

In many ways Bella had saved him. If he'd never caught her scent he wouldn't have had any sort of direction to run in after Maria's hold on him had dropped. Maria's possession of him was still a large question mark for him.

To his knowledge Maria wasn't in the slightest bit gifted and generally kept the gifted vampires to a minimum amount in her army. She didn't like anyone being more powerful than her. Jasper had believed that he was an anomaly and that she loved him. That life seemed so foreign to him as he ran with Bella in his arms.

His pull to Bella was indisputable. Leaving her wasn't any more an option than him needing to feed. His throat itched at the thought. He needed blood soon. He slowed down, intending to set Bella down and hunt any sort of animal nearby that would stave off the thirst. Bella reached up to touch him and her wrist ghosted over the skin at his neck. Suddenly, his thirst was virtually non-existent.

"Bella? What did you just do?"

"I—wait it worked?"

Jasper's brow furrowed in question and Bella studied her hands, which now rested in her lap.

" Jasper, it's—"

"Personal."

"I just wanted you to feel better. It's only ever worked on me though."

Jasper set her down and took a step away from her. It was impossible.

"You mean you just willed my thirst away?"

"I didn't think that it would work."

"So, that was how you've been walking on and off."

"It only lasts as long as I concentrate."

Jasper nodded and could feel the thirst slowly start to return. A talented human? Jasper had heard rumors about them but in his life with Maria had never been able to confirm their existence as a fact. The stories told of humans with powers that, when changed, became incredibly more powerful than your average gifted vamp.

If Maria found out about Bella… Jasper cringed at the thought. Bella took hold of his hand, gasping, no doubt, at the hard ice she held.

"Bella is that all you can do?"

"That's all I've ever been able to do. It doesn't go beyond the physical, though. I can't will a situation to work out or change in any way. If I could do that, believe me, we wouldn't be here."

Jasper nodded. "Does Charlie know?"

Bella opened her mouth to speak but Jasper held his hand up to silence her. Her indignant huff prompted his one word explanation.

"Company."

Jasper sniffed the air and listened carefully to the forest. Birds chirped, Bella's teeth chattered, and men conversed a few hundred meters away. Jasper growled.

"Get on my back and stay quiet."

Bella did as she was asked and they raced forward until they were a hundred meters away from the house a top of an overlooking hill. Jasper dropped down to his knees and stretched out onto his stomach. Bella rolled off of him and mirrored his movements. From the hill they could see the small shack that led to the safe house that was surrounded by men in black suits

"Vampires?" Bella asked. Jasper shook his head. If it were his kind they'd have ripped apart the shack and torn open the hatch that would take them down to Charlie.

The sound of metal jarring against metal rose up to greet them which mean that the men had found the hatch but couldn't figure out how to open it. It sounded like they were taking a jackhammer to it at the moment.

"That was too easy," Jasper said truly surprised that the men hunting them were capable of finding Charlie's carefully hidden safe house after years of him having it built. This meant that they had to have gotten help. Jenks, it just had to be him.

"We've got to go get him out of there," Bella scrambled to her knees. Jasper grabbed her arm and yanked her back down.

"We're not going anywhere."

Bella jerked her hand out of his grasp and shot him a glare.

"May you're not," Bella said. "But I am."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Review and tell me what you think!


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